JOY AT CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas… Happy Holidays are ways we all express greetings to one another during Christmas. But merry and happy don’t really adequately express the true feeling we should be experiencing during this season! Of course, it’s not bad to wish people a merry or happy Christmas but the emotion behind those two words fall so short of what God wants us to experience. Today is the third Sunday of Advent. A pink or rose colored candle is lit to signify JOY! Today, let’s ponder on the true meaning of joy at Christmas.

I think we should first define joy.

John Piper gives the best definition of joy I have heard…

Joy is a good feeling in the soul produced by the Holy Spirit as He causes us to see the beauty of Jesus in the Word and in His works.

This is really the most succinct and complete definition I have ever heard and is one worth remembering! Let’s dissect this definition and get a good look at true joy!

First of all joy is a feeling, an emotion! It does not come from our bodies but from our soul. Our soul is the invisible part of what makes you and me, you and me. It comes from our mind, will, emotion and intellect.

Often emotions are manifested or shown forth through our bodies.

A good movie can make me cry. But not just cry… ugly cry! I’m the person you don’t want to be sitting next to in a movie theater during a movie like Hacksaw Ridge or Unbroken or It’s A Wonderful Life. The tears and tissues fly!

My body does not cause crying, it’s my emotions of sadness or happiness that causes crying. My body just shows the emotion I am feeling.

So joy is an emotion! A good feeling produced by the Holy Spirit. That tells us a whole lot! Joy is not produced by humans. It is a special emotion that comes from the Holy Spirit. Actually, it is one of the “fruits” or outward signs produced by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

BUT THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT ARE LOVE, PEACE, JOY, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, AND SELF-CONTROL. AGAINST SUCH THINGS THERE IS NO LAW. Galatians 5:22-23

Joy is a special emotion only produced when we are connected to the Holy Spirit.

But why is it so special? Because it is an emotion reserved for us when through the Holy Spirit we see the beauty of just who Jesus is! Oh, the joy! Exactly!

We can all feel happiness but joy is a gift of the Holy Sprit.

And how do we see the beauty of Jesus? Through His Word and work. Through the bible and the world around us.

2 Timothy 3:16 says…

ALL SCRIPTURE IS GOD BREATHED…

You can know Jesus by reading His Word. One of the Holy Spirit’s jobs in our lives is to take the Word of God and illuminate it so that we can understand it. If you are indwelled with the Holy Spirit He is showing you Jesus by helping you understand God’s Word. The Bible is all about pointing to Jesus!

Can you see how important it is to not only read God’s Word but study and meditate on it?

You can also see Jesus in his works. His creation! The Holy Spirit will open your eyes to see Jesus everywhere in His creation. Through people and through nature! If we look for Jesus we can find Him. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes!

So let’s pull this all together again. Joy is a good feeling in our souls produced by the Holy Spirit as He causes us to see the beauty of Jesus in His Word and in His works.

Joy is what we are celebrating this third week of Advent. Joy is what we are to ask the Holy Spirit for.

The bible says… THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH. We don’t have time here to put this verse into proper context. But in a nutshell, even in bad times knowing who God truly is, and what God can do, and that He will accomplish what He says He will do will strengthens us. When we see just who Jesus is and what He has done for us already we will be strengthened.

It’s okay to wish someone merry or happy. But this season is really all about finding JOY!

Jesus, God in the flesh, came down from heaven to all sinful mankind to pay for our sins on a cross and repair our broken relationship with God bringing us in right standing with God so we can live eternally with Him in heaven. Salvation is a free gift. We don’t have to work for it. We have to believe in Jesus and His saving work with our whole hearts.

Now that is JOY! And joy is worthy of celebrating this third season of Advent!

Scripture memory verses this week:

BUT THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT ARE LOVE, PEACE , JOY, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, AND SELF-CONTROL. AGAINST SUCH THINGS THERE IS NO LAW. Galatians 5:22-23

Thank you for such a helpful thought for Christmas. It is my Christmas wish that all people will come to know the absolute joy of living in Jesus’ love…His presence. May you have a joy-filled holiday and every day.

I salute you! There is nothing I can give you which you have not;
but there is much that, while I cannot give, you can take.
No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in it today.
Take Heaven.

No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this present instant.
Take Peace.

The gloom of the world is but a shadow; behind it yet, within our reach, is joy.
Take Joy.

And so…I greet you with the prayer that for you,
now and forever, the day breaks, and the shadows flee away.

Thank you Yvonne for a beautiful and joyful message. I lit the pink candle on my Advent wreath today.
This Advent I have been trying to focus on the joy of the coming of the birth of Jesus and less on the craziness and commercialism the world tells us we should be doing for Christmas. I’m finding I’m less stressed.
Wishing you a joyful Christmas.

This morning I served breakfast to the homeless in my college town community.
One man kept condescendingly calling me “honey” and “baby” and telling me I was doing everything wrong.
But he also cried when he found out the program wouldn’t be running over Christmas break, because he didn’t know how else he would get food.
One woman spent the whole meal bashing Christians and Christianity and talking about hurting people.
But she also talked about how she had been raped and everyone in her life had let her down and that the worst part was being alone.
Jesus welcomes everyone to His table, no matter how broken they are, no matter if they follow Him or not, no matter what.
Remember to be kind, to be patient, to be understanding; you never know what someone else has been through, or that they might’ve had a seat at Jesus’ table today.

What a Wonderful message. I copied it and am sending it to friends of mine instead of Christmas cards., I don’t think that a card can say it this well. We have so much Joy to celebrate just by the things that God blesses us with everyday of our lives (yes, even with the bad things that happen), because he is standing beside us through it all if we only let him. Thanks for sharing your message and look forward to it each weekend. Merry Christmas and God Bless You with his Love and Joy.

Welcome to my blog and my life!

I’m an empty nester living with my wonderful husband Bobby at StoneGable. Our home often feels like a hotel, filled with family and friends. I love all things HOME AND GARDEN! Living by grace, I strive to live large and love all those who cross my path.